Current Events in July 2020

The parent company of Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, Justice, Catherines, and Lou & Grey -- ascena retail group, inc. -- is the latest retailer to take a fall from the COVID-19 pandemic and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Those stores aren’t going away, however. Chapter 11 simply allows ascena to restructure its agreements with its lenders. Currently, the company is operating with close to 95 percent of its 2,764 stores reopened and serving customers in those stores and through its e-commerce brand websites. Ascena says it will use the safety and well-being of its associates and customers as a benchmark for the future of its operations.

“The meaningful progress we have made driving sustainable growth, improving our operating margins and strengthening our financial foundation has been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we took a strategic step forward today to protect the future of the business for all of our stakeholders,” said Carrie Teffner, Interim Executive Chair of ascena. 

What changes and what stays the same

As part of the restructuring, ascena says two major steps will be taken. Firstly, it will optimize its brand portfolio. Secondly, it will reduce its footprint by closing a “significant number” of Justice stores and a “select number” of Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, and Lou & Grey stores. 

The company said in its announcement that it is getting completely out of Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and will be getting out of the plus-size business altogether by closing all of its Catherines stores.

Another one bites the dust

The coronavirus has thrown quite the bankruptcy pity party. Besides ascena, the pandemic is also playing host to other major apparel retailers like J.Crew, JCPenney, Neiman Marcus, and Brooks Brothers which, collectively, account for thousands of shuttered stores.

“It will take more than store closures to ensure the long-term survival of these brands,” GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders said in a note to clients about Ascena. “In our view, a label like Ann Taylor does not have a very clear sense of identity. Its proposition lacks both clarity and relevance and, as a result, it is all too easy to overlook.” 

Car thieves are apparently facing greater obstacles when trying to steal cars and trucks because they’ve stolen fewer of them over the last two years.

But the latest report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) suggests that your vehicle is more vulnerable to thieves in some areas of the country than others.

The report covers 2019 and shows that vehicle owners reported 794,019 thefts during the year, down from 819,998 in 2018. Owners reported 833,740 thefts in 2017.

There’s no evidence that criminals have lost interest in stealing cars and trucks -- it’s still a lucrative enterprise. But NICB says their job is now more difficult for a number of reasons.

Cars now come with more security features. While thieves tend to target older models -- their parts are in high demand on the black market -- even these older models now have enhanced protection against theft.

Easy-to-trace parts

Many key engine parts are now marked, making them easier to trace and riskier to purchase on the black market. Technology that can immobilize an engine is also more common, making a vehicle undrivable.

The widespread use of “smart” keys is also cited as an obstacle for thieves, although tech-savvy criminals have been able to get around that barrier. As we reported in 2015, some key fobs were shown to be fairly easy to hack.

Since then, carmakers have begun to address keyless ignition issues because most modern vehicles are controlled by computer systems that can be vulnerable to hacking.

Law enforcement has also been more aggressive in pursuing car thieves, perhaps another reason for car theft’s encouraging downward trend. That said, the rate of car theft -- the number of stolen cars per 100,000 population -- rose last year in 11 states. They are:

• Missouri

• Texas

• Arkansas

• Nebraska

• Minnesota

• North Carolina

• North Dakota

• South Dakota

• Delaware

• Michigan

• New Hampshire

What to do

NICB says there are a number of simple, common sense steps that car owners can take to reduce the chance of theft, starting with never leaving keys in the ignition or a key fob in the car when it’s not being operated.

Alarm systems are also helpful. Many cars are equipped with systems that sound the horn when someone tries to break into the vehicle. Aftermarket alarms are also available for all makes and models of cars. 

Tracking devices can also help police recover a vehicle if it’s stolen. If your vehicle is expensive or high on a car thief’s list, it might be a worthwhile investment.

Slack has filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission, accusing it of abusing its power by integrating a competing Teams product with its cloud-based productivity suite. 

“Microsoft has illegally tied its Teams product into its market-dominant Office productivity suite, force installing it for millions, blocking its removal, and hiding the true cost to enterprise customers,” Slack said in a statement.

The workplace instant messaging platform added that it “can’t ignore illegal behavior that deprives customers of access to the tools and solutions they want.” Slack executives said they’re asking the EU “to ensure Microsoft cannot continue to illegally leverage its power from one market to another by bundling or tying products.”

In comments to the Financial Times, Slack said it wants Microsoft to be forced to sell Teams separately to Microsoft 365 customers. But the issue is much bigger than Slack versus Microsoft, said Jonathan Prince, Vice President of Communications and Policy at Slack. 

“Slack simply wants fair competition and a level playing field. Healthy competition drives innovation and creates the best products and the most choice for customers. Competition and antitrust laws are designed to ensure that dominant companies are not allowed to foreclose competition illegally,” Prince said in a blog post.

Slack officials said they’re asking the EU to “be a neutral referee, examine the facts, and enforce the law.” 

“Slack is asking the European Commission to take swift action to ensure Microsoft cannot continue to illegally leverage its power from one market to another by bundling or tying products,” said David Schellhase, General Counsel at Slack. 

Recent studies have highlighted how concussion symptoms often linger when patients are younger, or even how certain sports can put kids at an increased risk for these types of head injuries. 

Now, researchers from the Henry Ford Health System are looking at the ways that high school athletes are affected by concussions. According to their findings, student athletes could lose more time than anticipated following a concussion -- especially if it isn’t their first one. 

“Concussion diagnosis and management requires an individualized and comprehensive neurological approach to ensure we are accurately diagnosing and managing return to play effectively,” said researcher Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher. 

Monitoring the damage

The researchers had nearly 400 high school athletes participate in the study. All participants had a history of at least one concussion when the study began, and all of them participated in a wide variety of sports. 

“Historically, the literature reported a concussion prevalence of four-five percent, however recent studies have found that nearly 20 percent of adolescents have suffered at least one concussion, there’s a huge disparity in terms of reporting over time,” said researcher Dr. Toufic Jildeh. 

The study revealed several important things about dealing with head injuries, and perhaps the biggest takeaway is that concussions affect each person differently, making the aftercare all the more important. 

For over 30 percent of the student athletes in the survey, one initial head injury led to repeat injuries. This ultimately affected how long it took them to get back to the game. For those who had experienced just one concussion, sitting out from games and practice for one month was standard. However, rest and recovery time was much longer when concussions became more persistent. 

“Depending on the number of concussions, the 30-day mark gives us a baseline for how much time adolescent athletes required before returning to sport,” said researcher Dr. Kelechi Okoroha. 

Deciding when to return to activity

Concussions often lead to other symptoms. Another recent study highlighted how the mental health of young people can become affected following such an injury. The study also found that 14 percent of the students struggled with amnesia following their concussions. 

While there are guidelines in place for treating young people with concussions, the researchers urge medical professionals to use their best judgement when advising high schoolers on when it’s safe to return to their sport. 

“Concussions have been a pressing issue,” said researcher Dr. Vasilios Moutzouros. “We want to limit the number of concussions and head injuries in a young athlete.” 

While recent studies have found how consumers’ social circle could be indicative of both health and wellness, a new study is investigating how emotions and happiness affect overall health.

According to researchers from the Association of Psychological Sciences, both happiness and health are important measures that can influence each other in consumers’ lives. Their work revealed that increasing happiness yields better physical health outcomes, even for those who are considered to be generally healthy. 

“Though prior studies have shown that happier people tend to have better cardiovascular health and immune-system responses than their less happy counterparts, our research is one of the first randomized controlled trials to suggest that increasing the psychological well-being even of generally healthy adults can have benefits to their physical health,” said researcher Kostadin Kushlev. 

Happiness influencing health measures

The researchers conducted a virtual experiment, consisting of over 150 adults ranging in age from mid-twenties to mid-seventies, that was designed to understand how health and happiness intersect. 

While half of the group carried on with their lives as usual and later reported on their overall well-being, the other half of the group was given three months worth of modules that were all centered around the idea of personal wellness. At no point did the modules address any physical health habits; however, the participants were exposed to several exercises that allowed them to set goals, meditate, and journal, among several other tasks. 

“All of the activities were evidence-based tools to increase subjective well-being,” said Kushlev. 

The researchers checked in with all of the participants three months after the study concluded, and they ultimately learned that the interventions geared towards promoting well-being did their job. The findings were two-fold: participants in the module group weren’t calling out sick from work as often as the control group, and their self-reported happiness levels increased as time went on. 

These results not only show how closely our mental and physical well-being are linked with each other, but they also show the opportunities that are available to extend this kind of wellness counseling to consumers. 

“These results speak to the potential of such interventions to be scaled in ways that reach more people in environments such as college campuses to help increase happiness and promote better mental health among students,” said Kushlev.

Ford Motor Company is recalling about 24,000 model year 2016-20 Lincoln MKX and Nautilus vehicles with 16-way power seats sold in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

There may be insufficient clearance between the driver and/or front passenger seat wiring harness and the seat cushion pan, which could cause wiring harness abrasion.

If certain wires in the seat wiring harness are damaged through contact with the seat cushion frame, the airbag system may not perform as intended in some circumstances, increasing the risk of injuries.

There are no reports of accident or injuries.

What to do

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install flocking tape on the exposed edge of the 16-way seat cushion frames, inspect the wire harness, and repair or replace as needed free of charge

Owners may contact Ford customer service at (866) 436-7332.  Ford's reference number for this recall is 20S37.

Rocky Mountain Bicycles of Canada is recalling about 3,000 Rocky Mountain non-electric alloy frame Instinct, Instinct BC and Pipeline bicycles sold in the U.S. and Canada.

The bicycle’s front frame triangle can crack and cause separation of the head tube from the frame, posing fall and injury hazards.

The firm has received 12 reports of front triangles cracking. There have been no reports of injuries.

This recall includes the alloy models of Rocky Mountain model year 2018-2020 Instinct, Instinct BC and Pipeline trail bikes.

Rocky Mountain is printed on the downtube. Instinct, Instinct BC or Pipeline are printed inside the seatstay on the left hand side.

The bikes were sold with 29 inch and 27.5+ inch wheels.

The recalled bikes include small, medium and large sizes with serial numbers starting with PRK17, PRK18 and PRK19-XXXXX. The serial number is located under the bottom frame bracket.

Only non-electric bicycles with alloy frames in all colors in the following models serial numbers are being recalled:

The recalled bicycles, manufactured in Taiwan and China, were sold at independent bicycle stores nationwide from August 2017, through June 2020, for between $2,600 and $4,700.

What to do

Consumers should stop using the recalled bicycles immediately and contact Rocky Mountain for information on how to receive a free replacement front triangle.

Consumers may contact Rocky Mountain toll-free at (877) 744-1515 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at www.bikes.com/en and click on Safety Recall at the top of the page for more information, and contact their authorized Rocky Mountain dealer.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 3,915,780 (3,850,134)

Total U.S. deaths: 142,095 (141,118)

Total global cases: 15,000,424 (14,763,911)

Total global deaths: 617,832 (611, 322)

Feds agree to pay nearly $2 billion for vaccine

The U.S. government has agreed to spend nearly $2 billion for 100 million doses of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine being produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, should it be proven safe and effective. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says any vaccine the government buys will be made available to Americans at no charge.

The agreement, announced in a statement by both companies, would allow the government to acquire an additional 500 million doses of the vaccine. The companies have already begun work producing the vaccine at scale.

“We’ve been committed to making the impossible possible by working tirelessly to develop and produce in record time a safe and effective vaccine to help bring an end to this global health crisis,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO. 

U.S. deaths tick back up

The U.S. reported more than 1,000 deaths from the coronavirus Tuesday, the first time the death toll has exceeded that number in two months. Deaths had been in a sharp decline until recently.

The COVID-19 Tracking Project at Johns Hopkins University shows deaths began to increase in the past seven days as the number of patients admitted to hospitals also rose. The U.S. health system reported more than 60,000 new positive coronavirus tests on Tuesday.

Between the end of March and the end of April, the U.S. reported more than 57,000 deaths from the virus. From the end of May to the end of June, there were fewer than 28,000 deaths.

McConnell calls for ‘another shot of adrenaline’ 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed his support for another round of stimulus, making it more likely that Congress will approve more help for consumers and businesses. McConnell said he believes the economy needs “another shot of adrenaline.”

The devil, of course, is in the details. Republicans and Democrats still don’t see eye to eye on what the package should contain. Republicans, including McConnell, have said a key to GOP support is a reduction in the extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits, set to expire at the end of the month.

Republicans have said many people getting the extra payments are receiving more money now than when they were working and have no incentive to look for a job.

United extends mask requirement to airports

Airlines in recent weeks have strengthened mask requirements for passengers and crew. United took it a step further today by declaring that masks must be worn in United’s areas of airports.

The areas include United customer service counters and kiosks, United Club locations, United's gates, and baggage claim areas. If customers refuse to comply, they may be refused travel and banned from flying United, at least while the mask requirement is in place. 

The new policy takes effect on Friday.

Mask debate called ‘surreal’

As the U.S. suffers a second wave of coronavirus cases, the debate over wearing masks in public shows no sign of ebbing. President Trump this week urged Americans to wear masks, something that is nearly universal in other nations.

“We’ve seen a change in tone from the White House, the president talking about wearing masks at long last. But I must say being based in Europe that this whole debate and politicization of the mask issue, (it) becoming part of U.S. culture wars, is pretty surreal to observe,” Tina Fordham, head of global political strategy at Avonhurst, told CNBC Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal reports that masks were also a point of contention in the U.S. during the 1918 flu pandemic, with many citizens refusing to wear them.

Around the nation

• Florida: The state’s senior citizens are at increased risk from escalating cases of the coronavirus, according to a senior advocacy group. "If the coronavirus in Florida were a hurricane, its intensity in two weeks has reached Category 5 status," LeadingAge Florida CEO Steve Bahmer said during a video conference.

• Pennsylvania: A spike in new COVID-19 cases has state health officials on alert, as they reported more than 1,000 additional cases Tuesday. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh accounted for a third of the new illnesses.

• Vermont: Vermont is one state where the coronavirus appears to be under control and masks are not required in public, but that could change. Gov. Phil Scott says he’s particularly concerned about college students arriving in the fall from states where the virus is spiking.

You’d probably never think it, but gift card scams can be quite a cash cow for the brands the gift cards are from. At least, a new class action lawsuit thinks it is for Apple.

The lawsuit claims that the “ecosystem” of Apple’s App Store insulates the company from liability or loss resulting from iTunes gift card scams. 

“Any attempt by Apple to disclaim liability for loss or damage resulting from iTunes gift card scams would be unconscionable and unenforceable in light of its role in those scams and the profit that it makes and retains from such scams,” the suit states.

The cash cow

For some reason -- maybe the shame of having the wool pulled over their eyes or the hassle of filing a report -- most of the scammed consumers never file a report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the incident. The aggregate losses of those who do step up, however, exceeded an estimated $93.5 million during 2015-2019, with the dollar amounts increasing significantly each year. 

According to FTC data, iTunes gift cards make up nearly 24 percent of all gift card scams. Applying this percentage to the total haul works out to be more than $90 million for Apple.

“As a result, this publicly reported $93.5 million figure appears to be only the tip of the iceberg. If only 10 percent of scam victims reported to the FTC (versus local police, attorney general offices, Apple, or nobody at all), the iTunes gift card scam would approach $1 billion in scammed proceeds, with Apple retaining $300 million in commissions,” the plaintiffs claim.

The suit contends that Apple is fully cognizant of the boundless nature of the scam and has been for some time. The plaintiffs also claim that the company has the ability to lay hands on who might be responsible but doesn’t because it is motivated to let the scam play out since it reaps a 30 percent commission on any purchase made using the gift cards.

“Apple dedicates a webpage to [the information regarding the scam], but apparently does little more,” the lawsuit says, arguing that Apple opts for the profit off the scam-related commissions while “falsely inform(ing) the public that all scammed proceeds are irretrievable.”

Elder abuse

In addition to asking the courts to decide whether Apple aids and abets scammers in perpetrating gift card scams, the suit is also seeking a determination on whether Apple’s conduct constitutes financial elder abuse.

The attorneys lay out the possibility that Apple’s inaction essentially adds up to financial and/or elder abuse “because it took, secreted, appropriated, obtained, and/or retained” money from seniors that was wrongfully obtained.

Elder abuse has become a top topic in consumer protection circles. So much, in fact, that seniors now have an Elder Abuse Hotline to help protect them against scams. U.S. Attorney General William Barr has said that everyone needs to step up and not be afraid to report anything unusual.

“What makes these crimes particularly heinous is not only the vulnerability of the victims, not only the breach of trust involved, but also the victims’ stage in life – the victims usually do not have the opportunity to recover from the financial loss,” the AG remarked in a speech earlier this year.

The Justice Department on Tuesday charged two Chinese hackers with attempting to gain access to the United States’ COVID-19 research. 

The Department said the two individuals charged were involved in a global hacking campaign that spanned more than a decade. The hackers recently sought to exploit vulnerabilities in the computer networks of a Massachusetts biotech company carrying out COVID-19 vaccine research. 

In an 11-count indictment, the DOJ alleged that LI Xiaoyu and DONG Jiazhi “conducted a hacking campaign lasting more than ten years to the present, targeting companies in countries with high technology industries, including the United States, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.” 

The Department said the hackers were trained in computer applications technologies at the same Chinese university. Both individuals were working for the Chinese government’s Ministry of State Security and for their own personal financial gain. 

Targeting sensitive information

The industries allegedly targeted by the pair included high tech manufacturing, medical devices, industrial engineering, business, pharmaceuticals, and defense, among others. The Justice Department said there was at least one instance in which the hackers attempted to extort cryptocurrency by threatening to release the victim’s stolen source code on the internet. 

More recently, the hackers “probed for vulnerabilities in computer networks of companies developing COVID-19 vaccines, testing technology, and treatments,” the Department said. There is currently no indication that the hackers were successful in obtaining any COVID-19 research. 

The indictment comes in the same month that intelligence officials said Russian hackers had attempted to target organizations carrying out coronavirus vaccine research. The charges filed today are the first to formally accuse foreign hackers of targeting ongoing COVID-19 research in the U.S., according to the Associated Press. 

“China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being ‘on call’ to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist party’s insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies’ hard-earned intellectual property, including COVID-19 research,” John C. Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement.

A new study published by Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) found that keeping sick family members separated in the home during the pandemic is a logistical impossibility for over 80 million Americans. 

Their work revealed that over 25 million homes are too small and lack an adequate number of bathrooms and bedrooms to properly keep those infected with COVID-19 away from those who are healthy. 

“Poverty and overt discrimination force many people of color into crowded and unsafe housing, fueling the spread of the pandemic,” said researcher Dr. Steffie Woolhandler. “We need to implement emergency measures to minimize household spread. But we also need to assure that all Americans can afford decent housing, and to finally begin enforcing the 1968 Fair Housing Act that too many landlords and realtors continue to flout.” 

Containing the spread of infection

To understand how the virus can spread so rapidly among family members, the researchers first analyzed data from the American Housing Survey. This allowed them to take account how many people are living in any given home while also determining the layout of such homes. 

In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are urging sick consumers to keep themselves restricted to certain parts of the house. For those with ample room and extra bathrooms, this isn’t a difficult option. The researchers note that it can work in keeping the virus contained without further infecting other family members. 

However, in this study, the researchers learned that additional bedrooms and bathrooms are hard to come by in tens of millions of homes across the U.S. They discovered that over 80 million Americans are living in homes that don’t have the space for such quarantine measures. 

These figures are concerning because they reveal just how difficult it is for millions of Americans to contain the virus in their own homes. However, the researchers say that low-income families and minorities are most affected by these findings. The team learned that a difference of more than 25 percent exists between white consumers who are low on space compared with Latino consumers in the same position. 

To help relieve families of this burden, and to limit the number of people affected nationwide, the researchers are calling for stronger interventions by policymakers to protect consumers and their families from COVID-19. 

“To help contain family spread we should immediately offer free masks, gloves, and disinfection supplies to all families of potentially contagious persons,” said researcher Dr. Ashwini Segal. “But we need to go further than that. To protect their loved ones, many doctors and nurses caring for COVID-19 patients have been put up in hotels rooms that lie vacant because of the pandemic. We need to offer that option to potentially infectious patients. Similar strategies have helped contain the pandemic in several Asian countries.” 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Wednesday that he doesn’t believe COVID-19 will ever be completely wiped out. 

“I don’t really see us eradicating it,” Fauci said during an interview with the TB Alliance. He added that he does believe health officials and world leaders might be able to bring the virus down to “low levels.” 

“I think with a combination of good public health measures, a degree of global herd immunity and a good vaccine, which I do hope and feel cautiously optimistic that we will get, I think when we put all three of those together, we will get control of this, whether it’s this year or next year. I’m not certain,” he said.

Trump believes it will ‘disappear’

To date, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 3.9 million Americans. Of that figure, at least 142,090 have died from complications of the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

“We are certainly not at the end of the game” of the pandemic, Fauci said. “Certainly we are not winning the game right now. We are not beating it.”

Although Dr. Fauci doesn’t foresee an official end to the threat of the virus, President Trump believes just the opposite. 

“The virus will disappear. It will disappear,” Trump said Tuesday during a White House briefing. However, he added that the situation in the U.S. will probably “get worse before it gets better.” 

Fauci and other health experts say COVID-19 is a uniquely dangerous virus because of its wide range of symptoms and how efficiently it spreads from person to person. 

“I have never seen infection in which you have such a broad range [with] literally no symptoms at all in a substantial proportion of the population to some who get ill with minor symptoms to some who get ill enough to be in bed for weeks,” he said. “Others get hospitalized, require oxygen, intensive care, ventilation and death. The involvement with the same pathogen is very unique.”

Fauci said Tuesday that mask mandates and bar closures would help mitigate the spread of the virus. 

As thanks for the hard work its associates have put in during the pandemic, Walmart will be treating them to a day off on Thanksgiving. The retailer announced that it will be closing all of its Walmart and Sam’s Club locations.

“We know this has been a trying year, and our associates have stepped up. We hope they will enjoy a special Thanksgiving Day at home with their loved ones,” said John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart U.S. “We are certainly thankful to our people for all of their efforts.”

Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations will operate during normal hours on Wednesday, Nov. 25, but the company said that store and club hours for Friday, Nov. 27, will be shared at a later date.

The move signals a huge shift for the retailer. Walmart has not been closed on Thanksgiving Day since back in the late ‘80s. The move also follows a trend started in 2019 when Costco, Lowe’s, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and others took the initiative to give its workers the day off.

Preventing a potential health hazard

Walmart didn’t come right out and say it, but the downside of packed stores in the middle of the coronavirus menace had to be a factor. 

“This year, the decision for retailers is about much more than company values or even bottom lines,” said Ben Unglesbee of Retail Dive.

“With COVID-19 still racing through the U.S., and some top experts predicting a potentially dire fall and winter in terms of the virus' spread, it's a safety issue for both customers and employees. Customers packing into stores for sales during the all-important holiday shopping weekend present a potential public health hazard.”

Walmart passes extra gravy to its employees

Walmart also announced on Wednesday that it’s passing out another special cash bonus to store, club, distribution center, and fulfillment center associates for their dedication to serving customers, members, and communities during the pandemic. 

Bonuses will range from $250 for part-time hourly and temporary employees to $300 for full-time hourly associates. Drivers, managers, and assistant managers in stores, clubs, DCs, FCs, and Health & Wellness will also receive a bonus. All told, the bonuses will add up to about $428 million.

“Our associates have been working at an incredible pace, they’ve solved problems, and they’ve set an amazing example for others,” complemented Furner. “To further appreciate their incredible work, we are pleased to share another special cash bonus this summer.”

AT&T has emailed some customers to tell them that they need to replace their device in order to continue receiving service, Android Police reports. 

Thousands of customers received a notice telling them that their device "is not compatible with the new network and you need to replace it to continue receiving service.” 

The notice refers to the fact that the carrier is planning to drop its 3G network. However, AT&T didn’t explicitly mention in the email that consumers’ phones will continue to work until February 2022. That information was reportedly only mentioned in a link within the email. 

The email went on to say that AT&T makes “getting a new device online easy” before naming various fast and free shipping options.

“Someone who just skims over the mail without clicking the red ‘Learn More’ button might conclude they need a new phone right now,” Android Police noted. 

More follow-up needed

In a post on AT&T’s forum, one subscriber asked if the email they received was a scam since it was poorly worded and “sounded fishy.” 

“I just received an email from AT&T that their network is no longer compatible to my device and I must upgrade. First off, this email to me sounded fishy. There was odd letters and numbers in the email address line,” the user wrote. “With this ongoing pandemic unfortunately you have to be very careful what's real and not a scam. Is this legit or no?” 

While the email appears to be legitimitate, Android Police says AT&T should probably follow up with another email “explicitly making clear that genuinely unsupported devices will only stop working in a year and a half, not tomorrow.” 

Studies continue to emphasize the health risks associated with rising levels of air pollution, including the threat these emissions pose to consumers’ longevity. 

Now, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota found that the threats to consumers’ health only continue to mount. However, extreme levels of air pollution could be coming from sources many haven’t considered. 

“Essentially we’re asking, ‘what’s killing people and how do we stop it?’” said researcher Sumil Thakrar. “People usually think of power plants and cars, but nowadays, livestock and wood stoves are as big of a problem.” 

Where are the emissions coming from?

To understand what kinds of emissions are putting consumers’ health at the greatest risk, the researchers analyzed data from the Environmental Protection Agency. This allowed them to track emissions levels, types, sources, and overall health risk.

“Targeting particularly damaging air pollution sources is a more efficient, and likely more effective, way of regulating air quality,” said researcher Jason Hill. “Think of springing a leak in your boat while out fishing. Why fret too much about how much water is coming in when what you really should be doing is plugging the hole?” 

Fine particulate matter, which is commonly notated as PM2.5, was the biggest threat to consumers’ health that the researchers discovered in this study. However, this type of emission was identified in high levels from sources that many haven’t considered before. 

For example, the researchers learned that ammonia contains high volumes of PM2.5. The chemical is used widely in popular household cleaners, but it can also be used in fertilizer and other agricultural processes. Despite the known risks linked to ammonia, the chemical remains easily accessible and widely used nationwide. 

Consumers are exposed to these fumes in other ways too. Simple household tasks like cleaning can create emissions that can be harmful to breathe in, but a dusty construction site can lead to similar risks. Like Thakrar mentioned, while traffic and fossil fuels certainly contribute to these rising emissions levels, the source of some of the highest levels of air pollution come from ordinary places that aren’t usually considered by the general public.

Exposure to PM2.5 is particularly dangerous. It’s not only responsible for thousands of deaths each year, but it can increase the risk for any number of health conditions, including lung cancer and heart attacks, among several others. To see real change and protect consumers’ health, the researchers explained that regulation of these emissions is a crucial step that lawmakers need to get behind. 

“Our work provides key insights into the sources of damage caused by air pollution and suggests ways to reduce its impacts,” Thakrar said. “We hope policymakers and the public will use this to improve the lives of Americans.” 

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a lawsuit against Burger King that claimed its meatless Impossible Whopper deceived vegans and vegetarians.

The suit was filed last November by seven vegan plaintiffs who sought class-action status. They claimed that Burger King’s popular plant-based burger wasn’t a vegetarian product because it was cooked on the same grill as the chain’s beef hamburger patties.

In their report, the plaintiffs claimed that consumers were deceived into paying extra for the Impossible Whopper because they believed it was a vegetarian product, when in fact it was “tainted” by being cooked on the same surface as beef.

U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal dismissed the suit, saying Burger King never advertised its Impossible Whopper as a vegetarian or vegan product. In his opinion, he noted that the seven plaintiffs did not ask Burger King how it cooked its Impossible Whopper or request an alternative.

The original plaintiff, Phillip Williams, filed suit in federal court in Miami saying he would not have purchased an Impossible Whopper had he known it would have been “coated in meat by-products.” The company’s defense rested on how the product was presented to the public from the beginning. 

Burger King’s website always described the Impossible Whopper as a menu item for consumers looking for something other than meat. It further said a non-broiler method of preparation is “available upon request.”

Not designed for vegans or vegetarians

When the suit was filed last year, Impossible Foods, which helped create the Impossible Whopper, issued a statement saying that the product was never designed for vegans or vegetarians, but for meat-eaters who want to add more plant-based food to their diet. To the judge, that was the crux of the case.

“Burger King promised a non-meat patty and delivered,” Singhal wrote in his opinion dismissing the suit. 

Burger King introduced the Impossible Whopper in August 2019 after a successful test market and saw an immediate boost to sales. CEO Jose Cil called it “something that can be part of the Burger King menu for the long term.”

While the popularity of the meatless burger wasn’t enough to boost Burger King’s fourth-quarter profits to the extent Wall Street expected, the company called it an important driver of overall sales.

In January, Burger King reduced the price of the Impossible Whopper as sales slowed.

With tens of millions of Americans added to the unemployment rolls since March, it wouldn’t be surprising if credit defaults were skyrocketing. But so far, they aren’t.

The numbers from S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian through June suggest that the credit default rate has actually dropped for the fourth straight month. 

The default rate for credit cards fell 17 basis points to 4.23 percent. The defaults on auto loans were down another 16 basis points to 0.40 percent. The default rate on mortgages declined 11 basis points to 0.41 percent.

The S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices represent a comprehensive measure of changes in consumer credit defaults. Overall, consumer credit defaults declined 12 basis points in June to 0.66 percent.

Broken down geographically, four out of the five major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) showed lower default rates compared to May. Consumers in Chicago did the best job of keeping up their payments, followed by Dallas, New York, and Miami.

Los Angeles was the only MSA where credit defaults moved higher, rising two basis points to 0.72 percent.

A pleasant surprise for lenders

It’s a much more favorable situation than lenders envisioned when the economy shut down in mid-March, when millions of people were thrown out of work. At the time, there was widespread concern that many consumers would no longer be able to pay their bills.

One mitigating factor could be the financial help that Congress has provided. In addition to the $1,200 per person stimulus payment, many people drawing unemployment benefits have been receiving an extra $600 a week.

However, that extra benefit expires at the end of this month. Congress and the White House have not reached agreement on whether to extend the payments or, if so, how much they should be.

It’s also true that mortgage defaults have remained low because the CARES Act established forbearance programs for people impacted by COVID-19, allowing them to defer payments without being in default. Those programs also expire at the end of the month.

What happens next may determine whether credit default rates keep going lower, or at least remain stable. At the end of 2019, Experian reported that overall consumer credit totaled $14.1 trillion, a 19 percent increase since 2009.